Introduction
The Scott Moot Court Honors Program (named in honor of the second Dean of the Law School, the late Joseph Scott) is an on-campus, student-run program administered by the Scott Moot Court Honors Board. The Competition, for which two (2) units of academic credit is awarded, requires the preparation of a competent appellate brief and competent participation in oral argument. There are two rounds of oral argument before the final round, with eliminations after each round.
The top four oralists compete in the final round for the award of Best Oralist. In addition, the student writing the Best Brief and the Best Advocate, the student with the highest combined brief and oral scores, are also recognized at the conclusion of the Competition.
The top sixteen finalists are invited to join the eighteen-member Honors Board for the following academic year. In addition, the two top briefwriters are invited to join the Honors Board as briefwriting members of the two National Teams. In the event that either one or both of the top briefwriters are among the top sixteen finalists and elect not to become the briefwriting member of the National Team(s), invitations will be made in rank order to the remaining top briefwriters until the positions are filled.
Each of the sixteen finalists, according to rank, is given the opportunity to state his/her preference for which position he/she would like to fill on the Board during the following year. Honors Board positions consist of a Chief Justice, four Associate Justices and thirteen members of the Law School's four competitive teams.
The four teams compete in off-campus competitions: The (United States) National Competition which takes place in the Fall, The (International) Jessup Competition which takes place in early Spring, and The American Bar Association National Competition which takes place in the Spring.
Participation in the Scott Moot Court Competition
Introduction to Appellate Advocacy, a two (2) unit course offered only during the Fall semester, is a prerequisite for participation in the Spring semester on-campus Scott Moot Court Competition. A student who achieves a grade of 77 or higher in the Introduction to Appellate Advocacy course may register to participate in the Spring semester's Competition.
Students may not participate in the Competition more than once, without approval from the Scott Moot Court Honors Program academic advisor.
Students not returning to the Law School for the full academic year are ineligible to serve on the Board. In addition, students must be in academic good standing to serve on the Board.
The members of the Honors Board serve as teaching assistants for the Introduction to Appellate Advocacy classes. In addition, the Board administers the on-campus Scott Moot Court Competition from which the following year's Board is selected.
Note: Students who are enrolled in the Scott Moot Court Honors Board in the Fall semester will automatically be enrolled for the Spring semester.